A semiconductor test device is already known that performs a functional test or a direct current test or the like on various kinds of semiconductor devices such as a logic IC (integrated circuit) or a semiconductor memory before shipment. In the case of executing a functional test or a direct current test or the like using a semiconductor test device, various conditions with respect to which items to test under which conditions are previously incorporated into a semiconductor test program, and therefore various kinds of tests can be performed on the semiconductor device under test by executing the semiconductor test program. However, the semiconductor test program must control a wide range of operations such as setting test items, setting test conditions executing the test, determining test results and the like. Consequently, the semiconductor test program consists of a vast amount of steps. When the kind of semiconductor device to be tested changes or the logic thereof changes, the semiconductor test program must also undergo various changes in accordance with those changes. When a semiconductor test program is newly created or changed, the program must be assessed to determine whether or not the program itself operates normally. One method of assessing the semiconductor test program in such a case is to operate the program with respect to a semiconductor device under test for which it is already known whether the device should pass or fail using an actual semiconductor test device. However, a semiconductor test device is itself expensive and the number of devices that have been introduced is small. Therefore, assessing whether or not a semiconductor test program operates normally using an actual semiconductor test device is not preferable since it involves stopping the semiconductor test line. Therefore, conventionally a semiconductor test program is not assessed using an actual semiconductor test device. Instead, the operations of a semiconductor test device are emulated using a general-purpose computer such as a workstation, and a semiconductor test program debug device has been used that performs debugging with respect to whether or not the semiconductor test program operates normally (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-51025 (pages 3 to 5, FIGS. 1 to 3).